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Hitoshi was trying to sneak through the house before Izuku woke up and heard him. The small bundle tucked close to their chest was wiggling around purring loudly. Violet white eyes peeking out of the blanket Hitoshi had wrapped around them. Turquoise fur tickled Hitoshi’s neck causing him to miss the step and hit the creaky floorboard. Freezing in place, Hitoshi cringed when he heard Izuku’s feet hit the floor. “Tosh? You’re later getting back, did you get hurt?” Hitoshi cringed again and cleared his throat.
“Hey, Moonbeam. No, I didn’t get hurt. Did you get any sleep tonight, Love?” Hitoshi bit his lip and tried to stuff the tiny blue head back into the blanket. Izuku sighed heavily and Hitoshi could practically feel the loving exasperation in the air.
“Hitoshi.” Trying to hide the blush in his cheeks, Hitoshi smiled at his husband who was leaning against their bedroom doorframe. Rubbing the back of his neck, Hitoshi leaned down and placed a kiss on Izuku’s cheek.
“Yes, Darling?” Izuku pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to hide the fond smile growing on his face.
“Hitoshi, what is in your arms?” Grinning cheekily, Hitoshi took a step backwards.
“A blanket, Dearest.” Izuku rubbed a hand down his face, his hand lingering over his mouth. Honestly, Hitoshi thought he looked adorable. His hair was in disarray from sleeping and pajama pants rode low on his hips. The gauze on his side looked clean and fresh. He had probably changed it after his shower earlier that evening. Hopefully, Izuku would be back to patrolling next week. Until then, though, Izuku was stuck in their home and was going a bit stir crazy.
The blanket wiggled harshly and Hitoshi tried to subtly adjust his arms. Izuku’s sharp eyes tracked the movement and Hitoshi flushed deeply. “Shinsou Hitoshi. There had better not be a cat in that blanket.” Puffing up his cheeks, Hitoshi tried to give his most innocent expression. Based on Izuku’s deadpan, it was not believable.
“Light of my life, why would I bring a cat home when you specifically said that we had enough cats?” Izuku walked over to Hitoshi. Placing his hand on Hitoshi’s arm, Izuku leaned upwards and flicked his nose.
“Show me the cat, Hitoshi.” Hitoshi placed a soft, sweet kiss on Izuku’s lips.
“The baby is so small and look at those eyes !” Hitoshi pulled the blanket off of the kitten’s head. Large eyes blinked up at Izuku. Hitoshi was certain that the kitten was going to do most of the convincing for him. “Look, Zuku, he already likes you!” Izuku sighed as he leaned his head against Hitoshi’s shoulder.
“Love, we already have five cats.” Hitoshi nudged his nose against Izuku’s hair and brought the kitten closer to Izuku’s face. “You are the cutest aren’t you.” The kitten meowed quietly and licked Izuku’s nose. It absolutely did not melt Hitoshi’s heart. Not even a little bit. “We have to talk about this, Tosh. We can feed the kitten tonight and let them stay here, but we need to talk before we take in another cat. We don’t even know if Mouse, Brat, Jack, Lion and Gerald will get along with the kitten.” Hitoshi smiled brightly and gave Izuku a searing kiss.
“Of course, my Lovely.” Carefully, Hitoshi set the baby on the floor and wrapped his arms around Izuku. Running his hands up his husbands arms Hitoshi breathed in Izuku’s scent. This last injury had scared him, but that was the price of being a hero and of being married to the number one hero. “Now, really, did you get some sleep tonight?” Izuku nuzzled into Hitoshi’s neck with a soft hum.
“Yes, Tosh, I slept. You worry so much, Love.” Izuku’s arms snaked around Hitoshi’s waist and squeezed him slightly. Placing a kiss on Izuku’s hair, Hitoshi simply stood there and enjoyed the warmth of Izuku safe in his arms. It wasn’t often that they got to simply exist so he always took advantage of their brief moments of calm.
“I’ll always worry about you, Zuku. Nothing will ever stop me. Not even if you were always at home just being an amazing cat dad.” Izuku’s shoulders shook in laughter at the familiar statement. The two of them joked about retiring and just raising hoards of cats in the woods one day. Neither of them would last a week without going crazy, but it was a fun dream for the hard nights. Sometimes on a long mission they would lay on the phone together planning their cabin together.
“I know, Love. And I you.” Izuku placed a kiss on Hitoshi’s jaw before leaning back and grabbing Hitoshi’s wrist. “Now, let’s get some food in you before you go shower.” Hitoshi happily trotted behind his husband. Sitting down at the counter, Hitoshi watched as Izuku set a small plate on the floor with some lunch meat for the kitten who was perched on top of the couch. Hitoshi was busy admiring the flex of Izuku’s shoulders as he reached for the bread when a noise from the couch broke the soft silence.
Hard won instincts had both Izuku and Hitoshi spinning around and accessing the danger. Only to be met with a wide pair of shiny white eyes set in a pale face and framed by long, knotted turquoise hair. The exact same shade as the kitten who had been resting on the couch. The kitten who was no longer on the couch. The kid looked to be no more than six and their face was gaunt, dark circles ringing their eyes. Izuku slowly approached and knelt down in front of the kid. He had grabbed a shirt from the clothes he had folded earlier and handed it to the kid. “Hi, kiddo. My name’s Izuku. Can you tell me yours?”
The kid’s eyes widened once their head popped through the opening of one of Izuku’s t-shirts. “Mmm, uh. ‘M Bash-shira.” Their voice was crackly, probably from disuse.
“It’s nice to meet you, Bashira. Can you tell me how my husband found you looking like a kitten?” Bashira blinked between Hitoshi and Izuku, Hitoshi still frozen in place. Hitoshi was not good with children. He was excellent with cats, but children scared him. That was the main reason they hadn’t adopted yet, Hitoshi didn’t want to mess a kid up.
“Is my qu-quirkk. ‘M a ca-t.” Probably had a speech disorder by the sounds of it. Izuku had one as a kid and was very good at understanding the choppy speech. He had helped Hitoshi learn as well. It was beneficial whenever he had to deal with terrified civilians.
“That’s a pretty cool quirk, Kiddo. Can you tell me who your parents are so we can find them?” Hitoshi was grateful Izuku didn’t say that the parents might miss the kid. They might, maybe Bashira’s parents were good ones and desperately worried. In Hitoshi’s experience, and Izuku’s, that wasn’t usually the case. Finding Bashira hiding in an alley at three in the morning, severely underweight and fur, and hair , matted in knots did not paint a good picture.
“No-t-t ‘pos-ssss-sed t-t-oo.” Izuku nodded calmly and slowly reached out to pull the collar of the shirt over Bashira’s shoulder.
“That’s okay, Kiddo. How about we get you some food? You look a little hungry. Maybe we can talk more while you eat and Hitoshi takes his shower?” Bashira blinked at Hitoshi, a tiny smile flashing across their face and eyes partly hidden by dirty hair.
“Mkay. ‘M hun-nn-gryy.” Izuku smiled softly as he took Bashira’s hand. Pausing beside Hitoshi, Izuku squeezed his bicep lightly.
“Go take a shower and call The Cat Problem. We’ll just grab something to eat and wait here for you.” Hitoshi nodded mutely. He tried to smile at the kid, but he didn’t know if it actually worked. Slipping his phone out of his pocket, Hitoshi dialed his dad’s number. He knew that both his dad and his pops would be waking up around now. It only rang twice before Aizawa answered.
“Kid?” Hitoshi sighed slightly. Sometimes it was nice to just hear his dad’s voice.
“Hey, dad. I, um, Izuku and I might have a situation.” Hitoshi could tell when his dad registered his words because the dead air seemed to crackle with alertness.
“What can we do?” Hitoshi felt a wave of calm wash over him. His dad and pops would know what to do. It took him about five minutes to explain the situation and an additional two minutes of silence afterwards. “That- certainly is a mess. Is the kid okay?” Hitoshi rubbed a hand over the back of his neck and flopped back onto his bed.
“I don’t know. Bashira, the kid, is with Izuku right now. Seems to be severe neglect at the very least and a speech impediment probably. Cute as a button though.” Aizawa hummed over the phone and seemed to be contemplating something.
“Well, there are a couple ways you can go about this. Sounds like the kid is going to enter the system once their case is processed. You both have foster license for emergencies so, theoretically, you could take them in to keep them out of the mess. Or, you let them go to another home and just work behind the scenes to find the scumbags who let a kid go this long without help.” Throwing an arm over his eyes, Hitoshi nodded before realizing his dad couldn’t seem him and flushing brightly.
“Yeah, I guess we’ll have to talk about that today. Can we call you if we have questions? When you and Pops took in me it had to have been rough, I know it took a bit once Eri was around.” Aizawa sighed heavily.
“You can always call, Hitoshi. You and Problem Child are always welcome to call, no matter the time.” Hitoshi smiled to himself. He knew all of this, but sometimes it was nice to hear.
“Okay, we’ll keep you updated on what we decide.” Tossing his phone onto the bed, Hitoshi rubbed both hands up and down his face. This was going to be a mess, but he really didn’t want to risk Bashira going into the system. That place had fucked him up and even though Izuku was trying to push for reform, it was a painfully slow process. He quickly jumped in the shower and threw on a tank and pair of sweats. He still needed to talk to Izuku about what they were going to do and check up on how Bashira was doing.
Once Hitoshi came back into the kitchen he was met with the softest sight. Izuku’s arms were wrapped around a sleepy Bashira and his scarred fingers were slowly working the knots out of their hair. Soft humming filled the air and Izuku was rocking side to side. The edges of a sandwich sat on a plate in front of them and half a glass of water next to it. When Izuku locked eyes with Hitoshi his emerald eyes flared with a protective fire. The fire he always had right before a bad fight or when he thought one of his family was hurt. Suddenly, Hitoshi had no doubt which option they were going to choose. Looks like he would have to get better with kids really fast.
Crouching down, Hitoshi met Bashira’s sleepy eyes. “Hi, I didn’t get to introduce myself earlier. My name’s Hitoshi.” A small hand waved at him weakly and the kid rubbed their cheek against Izuku’s shoulder. “You look a bit sleepy. We have a nice bed you can sleep in for a bit. When you wake up we can get you a bath and some better fitting clothes, how does that sound?” The sweetest smile Hitoshi had ever seen filled Bashira’s face. It lit up their eyes and made them look even younger than six.
“Mmm ‘omissse?” Izuku readjusted Bashira and his eyes flared in loving, protective fire.
“Promise. Hitoshi and I will be right here.” Bashira nodded and let their eyes drift shut. Hitoshi slipped his hands under Izuku’s and lifted them with ease. Together they made their way to the guest room and tucked Bashira under the covers. Leaving the door cracked so that they could hear better, Izuku and Hitoshi slipped into the living room. Izuku barreled into Hitoshi’s chest and took a shuddering breath. “Tosh, we have to help her. She’s five . She’s been on her own for months at the very least. Her parents were horrible and she is just so sweet. Thinks you’re the nicest ever, her words.”
Hitoshi soothed a hand through Izuku’s curls and hugged him close. “We both have our foster licenses. Dad reminded me of that and he said that if we went that route we could call with any questions.” Izuku’s arms tightened to an almost painful degree.
“I know we were going to wait a few years, but Tosh she’s so hurt and she’s so sweet.” Hitoshi felt tears leak onto his shoulder as Izuku began crying. “She’s so much like me. She’s been on her own for so long. She’s like you too, Tosh and that scares me. What else has she been through?” Hitoshi kissed Izuku’s head and nosed through his hair. Breathing in the unique scent of oranges, spice and Izuku, Hitoshi took a moment. This was going to be a huge change, but it could prove to be good.
“We’d have to adjust put work hours. Maybe take some time off for her to get adjusted. Probably stick her in therapy and definitely needs to visit the doctor. We both would need to get in and see our therapists.” Izuku looked up and Hitoshi with wide eyes. His head bouncing up and down.
“We could do it, Tosh. I have that offer from Nezu to teach. If I take it, I could cut my hours of hero work. It would keep me home more often. You could give away some of your weekend patrols. We could foster her, maybe even adopt, Love. Love, we can do this.” Hitoshi smiled and kissed Izuku on the lips. He could feel the smile splitting his husbands face in two.
“Alright, Lovely. When she wakes up we can go down to the station and file everything away. I’ll text dad and see if he can run over some of Eri’s old clothes for today before we can go shopping. I’ll call in for the rest of the week.” Izuku kissed Hitoshi happily and bounced in place.
“We’re going to be parents, Tosh. I love you so much, Hitoshi. So, so much.” Hitoshi chuckled and pulled Izuku onto the couch. He needed a nap if they were going to get through all of this today.
“I love you too, Izuku. Now, let’s rest until she gets up. We have a lot to get through.” Izuku settled into Hitoshi’s hold and slipped his phone away after he texted Aizawa. With a sigh, Hitoshi let his eyes slide closed. He had planned on bringing home a cat child, a human child was okay though.